A Suitcase of Seaweed and Other Poems - Hardcover

Wong, Janet S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689807880 ISBN 13: 9780689807886

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry, 1996

Synopsis

Reflecting a pride of her Chinese, Korean, and American backgrounds, this collection of poetry confronts and discusses the issue of prejudice and presents the differences among various cultures in a positive light.

About this title

About the Author:

Janet S. Wong's first book was Good Luck Gold and Other Poems, which Booklist called "fresh" and "honest." She lives with her husband and young son on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington.

Review:

Gr. 4^-7. As she did in Good Luck Gold (1994), Wong writes in simple, casual free verse about herself. This time she has divided the small collection into three parts: Korean, Chinese, and American poems. At the start of each section is a page of autobiography as interesting as the poems. Her Korean mother met and married Wong's father when he was in Korea with the U.S. Army. He is Chinese but came to this country when he was 12. Wong was born here. Some of the poems are flat, but the best of them show a mix of feelings. Koreatown is growing, spreading--and "splitting." Korean women, furious with their families, come to the beauty salon to change their "stubborn, straight, heavy hair" and get themselves a perm. The poems overlap their ethnicity and subject, of course, and young people will recognize many of the situations, whether Wong is imagining her parents' "Love at First Sight" or chafing at their high expectations and their disappointment. Hazel Rochman -- Booklist

Grade 6-8?Wong was born in America of Chinese and Korean heritage, but the basic subjects she addresses in neat stanzas of free verse aim at the heart of any family, any race. The quiet, touching poems are divided into three sections, each honoring another part of her ethnicity. The Korean section deals with such diverse topics as hospitality, acupuncture, or the spicy kimchi that was a frequent dinner food. The author learned about Chinese culture from her father's parents, whose presence plays a large role in these poems of family. As an American, Wong writes poems of realization and identity. Whether the words are about customs or careers, they provide a sense of who the author has become because of her pride in her blood-lines. People may ask Asian-Americans "Where are you from?" This collection, appropriate for YAs of any culture, may make this question less relevant and important as they realize the commonalties among cultures.?Sharon Korbeck, Waupaca Area Public Library, WI Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- School Library Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0689807880
• ISBN 13: 9780689807886
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48